


Moving On

by turnedherbrain



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Leotilda, Love, Memories, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-04 13:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15842331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnedherbrain/pseuds/turnedherbrain
Summary: One room isn’t big enough for the two (three) of them.Post-s3 Leotilda. A mixture of poignant moments and fluffiness :D





	Moving On

Mattie’s bedroom at the Hawkins’ family home hadn’t been occupied for long. It wasn’t as if she was taking down her entire childhood, or stripping away layers of memories. She didn’t have a heart full of fond reminiscences.

But still, she was dismantling the recent past: taking pictures down that had been tacked to the walls, clearing her noticeboard, packing her (for now) too-small clothes. As she moved about the room, the baby squirmed happily, like butterfly flutters inside her.

The one picture she hadn’t taken down yet was the flimsy, filmic image of the little bean from her latest scan. Their tiny tadpole now resembled a tiny human: curled up in its cosseted consciousness, hands grabbing at a miniature sphere of space. Nearly – but not quite – human.

She looked at the image, and once again experienced a powerful sense of joy, mingled with a fierce protectiveness. _Don’t you come near her,_ she thought. _Don’t you **dare**. _

Leo had slunk into the room, accustomed to entering places but not really occupying them. ‘Wow. It looks… bare,’ he commented, looking around at the few stacked boxes: everything Mattie hadn’t discarded or given away.

‘I know. Are you ready to do this?’ Mattie still wasn’t sure. She’d always been the brave one. But now they were about to leave, she wanted the comforting warmth of family and the fragile sense of security that gave her.

Leo nodded, unswerving in his response: ‘This isn’t something we can run away from. We need to move on. That’s what Mia would say.’ Mattie saw Leo’s slight gulp as he said that name out loud. He was torn between trying to forget his cut-short memories, or trying to conserve the blurring image of his more-than mother.

‘How’s Max?’ she asked, deliberately changing the subject; although she was worried for the synths’ safety as much as their own.

‘He’s OK – for now. They arrived in Stockholm late on Friday, but they keep on being pushed from place to place. Thankfully, there are still some parts of this planet where synths are more than tolerated.’

‘And half-synths?’ replied Mattie thoughtfully. She meant their daughter; not Leo. But he still looked doubtful. He’d been – somehow he still was – a hybrid. Now, he needed this completeness, this sense of a small family being built up: the two of them soon to be three.

‘What about Niska?’ Mattie tried to speak casually, but the burning-bright memory of Niska’s prophecy about their child was always so near the surface.

‘With Astrid. That’s how I hear about her. Astrid’s still giving me irregular reports – they’re actually pretty funny, but also kind of nondescript. Like, Astrid tells me lots of stuff, but also tells me nothing?’ Leo grinned, while Mattie reflected his expression with a wry smile of her own.

‘We should visit them,’ she suggested nonchalantly, trying not to give away her knowledge about Niska. Neither Mattie nor Astrid had mentioned it: an unspoken pact not to burden Leo further. She was almost scared of him finding out – not just about Niska, but about her prediction too.

‘OK… when should we go?’ Leo laid down at an angle on the bed, gazing around the almost-empty bedroom. ‘Once the baby’s born?’

‘Before,’ Mattie answered decisively. _Definitely before._ She needed some advice from their outspoken oracle.

Mattie was tired of this last bout of packing. She wished everything would combine into one enormous suitcase and simply whoosh itself out the door. Collapsing gratefully next to Leo on the bed, she decided that just lying there with him was much more preferable. That safe arm around her; that steady breath. Only a tiny flurry of kicks sent a semi-regular reminder of their soon-to-be-three existence.

‘I’ll always be here. You know that, don’t you? I mean – with you and our baby – wherever we are.’ Leo said suddenly. Sometimes he didn’t think before he spoke. On this occasion though, it was perfectly judged.

‘Are you getting all _smushy_ on me?’ teased Mattie, stroking her fingers playfully across his cheek.

‘I _might_ be!’ he replied, mock-offended. He cuddled her closer still, so she was nestled in the warm safety of his crooked arm, her head on his chest. She listened to his strongly beating heart, a regular counterpoint to the irregular kicks inside.

‘It’s fine,’ she admitted. ‘I’m feeling kind of smushy too. Let’s just go ahead and be smushy together.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ murmured Leo. ‘Do you think…?’

‘What?’

‘You know…’

_‘Really?’_

‘Yes, really.’

‘Have we got time? When are we heading out to Sophie’s stage show?’

‘Four o’clock. There’s still another twenty minutes.’

‘Mmmmm. Well, OK then. But only once. Otherwise, it’s indulgent.’

‘OK. Only once. I promise.’ Leo wriggled further down the bed, until he was level with her belly. Then, he started to whisper. ‘Hello, special bean. Can you hear me? This is the story of how mummy and daddy first met. I know I’ve told it before, but it’s one I don’t want to forget.’

As Leo related the memory, Mattie relaxed. The baby’s movement inside her subsided: the tale’s retelling bringing peace... peace... _peace_. 

**Author's Note:**

> ‘smushy’ = a combination of ‘slushy’ and ‘mushy’. Mattie’s way of describing anything involving tender feelings :’D
> 
> Sorry about the reference to THAT part of 3.08, right at the end - it’s a deliberate reversal.


End file.
